TEAM BEGINS TEST OF ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM

The next phase of testing of regenerative life support
systems has begun at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX. A
crew of four is being maintained in an air-tight chamber
environment for 90 days testing life support systems for future
space exploration missions, such as a mission to Mars.

Phase III of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project began
on Sept. 19, 1997. It is the fourth in a series of tests being
conducted at Johnson. This phase uses a combination of physical,
mechanical, and biological methods to recycle air and water. The
four-person crew will spend more than 90 days investigating the
use of biological, mechanical, and chemical means to recycle all
their air and water and provide some of their food. Regenerative
life support is a critical enabling technology for future human
deep-space missions, since astronauts cannot carry the supplies
necessary to support a trip to Mars or a base on the Moon.

The test crew members for Phase III are Crew Commander Dr.
Nigel Packham (36, Lockheed-Martin Life Support System Scientist); Vickie
Kloeris (41, NASA Shuttle Food System Manager), John Lewis (30,
Lockheed-Martin Life Support System Engineer) and Laura Supra (28,
Allied Signal Life Support System Engineer). They plan to remain
in the chamber until late December to evaluate the effectiveness
of advanced regenerative life support systems.

The current test utilizes biological systems for the primary
means of water recovery and employs a combination of mechanical
and biological systems to revitalize the air. A module containing
wheat crops will be linked to the test chamber to provide up to
25 percent of the crew's oxygen from the carbon dioxide produced
by the crew in the 20-foot chamber. Water consumed by the crew will
be recycled using a unique biological and physical/chemical water recovery
system designed at Johnson. Solid waste from the crew will be
incinerated to produce additional carbon dioxide to sustain plant
growth for air revitalization and food production.

The team members will provide daily status reports on the
operation of the life support systems, as well as crew
habitability criteria. The prime and backup crews also will
conduct fourteen demonstration projects during the test including
both physiological and psychological medical investigations and
evaluations of food systems and of astronaut training techniques.

The current test continues investigations begun on three
previous tests, conducted in August 1995, June-July 1996, and
January-March 1997. In the first test, Packham spent fifteen days
in a 10-foot chamber using a crop of wheat plants to recycle
breathing air. A 30-day test followed in 1996 with four
volunteers in the 20-foot chamber evaluating the effectiveness of
advanced mechanical and chemical systems to recycle air and water.
The third test employed mechanical and chemical systems
functionally similar to those planned for use aboard the
International Space Station to purify air and water supplies for
60 days.

The latest information about the chamber test,
including daily updates from the crew, can be found at the
Phase III web site.